Packaging machines



March 1969 A. SCHMERMUND 3,431,705

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ATTURNEYS United States Patent 10,746/ 65 US. Cl. 53--388 Int. Cl. B65b 51/00 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A packaging machine is disclosed which comprises a guide passage for packets wrapped in wrapping material. The guide passage is formed by walls, at least a portion of at least one of the walls being of electrically conductive material for heating said wall portions electrically, so that the wrapping material, during movement of a packet through the guide passage, is contacted and heated by the wall portion. The wall portion has slots or other perforations arranged to increase the electric resistance of the wall portion. Additional slots or perforations are provided at the marginal regions of the wall portion to suitably influence the current distribution in said marginal portions in order to obtain a substantially uniform heating effect.

The invention relates to packaging machines wherein superposed or overlapping portions of wrapping material are glued together. On high-speed packaging machines, as are used for example for packing cigarettes, the portions glued together are usually heated to accellerate drying of the glue. Alternatively, if the wrapping material is thermoplastics material superposed or overlying portions thereof may be heated for heat-welding the portions together.

In the specification of my Patent No. 3,236,027 issued Feb. 22, 1966, a packaging machine is described, which comprises a guide passage having a wall or wall portion of electrically conductive material, means being provided for feeding an electric current through said wall or wall portion for heating the same, further means being provided for feeding wrapping material in the form of a web, or in the form of wrappings on a series of articles, through the guide passage in such a manner that the wrapping material, during its movement, is contacted by said wall or wall portions so as to be heated thereby.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for decreasing the intensity of the electric current through such wall or wall portion while increasing the voltage across said wall or wall portion so that, not withstanding the decreased current intensity, the heating eflect of the electric current need not be substantially decreased.

The present invention consists in a packaging machine of the kind referred to above, wherein a wall or wall portion of a guide passage is made of electrically conducting material and has slots or perforations arranged so as to increase the electric resistance of said wall or wall portion.

Othr objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when read in conjunction with the appended drawings which are given by way of example and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention, partly broken away;

FIG. 2 illustrates a view of a wall of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an end view on the wall of FIG. 2 and also shows adjacent parts;

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the wall and adjacent parts of FIGS. 2 and 3;

3,431,705 Patented Mar. 11, 1969 FIG. 5 somewhat diagrammatically illustrates parts of a cigarette packaging machine;

FIGS. 6 and 7 lilustrate a modified wall in front and side view respectively;

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate another modified wall in front and side view respectively;

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate yet another modified wall in front and side view respectively;

FIGS. 12 to 17 illustrate a further modification of a wall; FIG. 18 illustrates yet a further modification of a wall in front view.

The embodiment of FIG. 1 comprises four rectangular walls 1, 2, 3 and 4 forming a guide passage generally indicated by reference numeral 5 for feeding packets of articles wrapped in wrapping material therethrough. Each of the walls 2, 3 and 4 comprises a sheet of metal backed by a heat-resistant supporting carrier 6, an electrically insulating layer 7 being inter-posed between the carrier 6 and the respective walls 2, 3 or 4. Each carrier 6 and insulating layer 7 are connected to the respective walls 2, 3 or 4 by rivets 8, only some of the rivets 8 being fully shown, each rivet 8 being electrically insulated by a sleeve 9 of insulating material. The carriers 6 and the wall 1 may be made of metal or of electrically insulating material. The walls 2 and 3, are electrically connected by metal strips 11 and the walls 3 and 4 are electrically connected by metal strips 12. The metal strips 11 and 12 are screwed to lugs 13 of the walls 2, 3 and 4. Similar lugs 14 serve as terminals for connecting the walls 2 and 4 to an electric low-voltage supply source by means of conductors 15. The walls 2, 3 and 4 each have slots 16 open at an edge 17 of each wall (see also FIGS. 2, 3 and 4). and extending to the vicinity of the opposite edge 18. Between adjacent slots 16, further slots 19 are provided, which are open at said opposite edge 18 and extend to the vicinity of the edge 17. Perforations 21 are provided at the marginal portions adjacent the edges 17 and 18.

The cigarette packaging machine of FIG. 5 comprises the guide passage 5. A first reciprocatable member 22 pushes cigarette packets 23 through the guide passage 5, one wall of which is mounted on levers 24 for pressing said wall against packets 23. A second member 25 pushes cigarette packets 23 emerging from the guide passage 5 laterally away from the guide passage 5.

The arrangement so far described operates as follows:

While cigarette packets 23 are pushed by the member 22 through the guide passage 5, their wrappings are heated by the walls 2, 3 and 4 (see also FIG. 1) in direct contact therewith. Heat is created in the walls 2, 3 and 4 by an electric current supplied thereto through the conductors -15 and the metal strips 11 and 12. Owing to the slots 16 and 19 the electric current has to flow in a path indicated in FIG. 2 by arrows. Thereby, the path of the current is longer than it would be if the slots 16 and 1-9 were absent. This longer path causes an increase of the electric resistance of the walls, which resistance is further increased by the additional perforations 21. The increased resistance renders it possible to increase the voltage between the terminals 14. Thereby, for obtaining the same heating effect, the current intensity can be correspondingly reduced. The additional slots 21 serve to influence the distribution of the current in the marginal portions of the walls and thereby to obtain a substantially uniform heating effect.

Modifications of the arrangement described are possible. For example, the slots 16 and 19 may be replaced by slots 116 and 119 shown in FIG. 6, which slots are inclined relative to the edges 17 and 18, FIG. 7 being a corresponding side view, partly broken away. With the arrangement of the slots 116 and 119, packets moving in the direction from the edge 18 to the edge 17 cross the slots 116 and 119. Thus areas of the packet surfaces are avoided which permanently overlie the slots.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrates a wall, the carrier 206 of which has a groove 226 which is generally of zig-zag shape and into which a continuous strip 227 of conductive material is inserted. Thereby, parallel branches of the strip 227, which is in zig-zag shape, form a wall of conductive material having slots 216 and 219 corresponding to the slots 16 and 19 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The strip 227 is cemented to the bottom of the groove 226.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11, the carrier 306 is coated, for example galvanically, with a metalliccoating 327 which may be of chromium. Slots 3 16 and 31-9 are provided in the coating 327, for example by etching. The coating 327 may be kept thin so that the resistance of the coating is comparatively high. The metalliccoating 327 when thin has a small heat-inertia, so that when current is applied the coating 327 is quickly heated and when the current is interrupted the coating 327 quickly cools down.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 12 to 17 a strip 427 is provided which has parallel runs connected at the ends of the runs by suitably bending the strip 427 as can best be seen from FIG. 17 at 430. Slot-like gaps 431 are formed between adjacent runs of the strip 427. I

FIG. 18 shows a wall 502 having perforations in the shape of holes 532. The wall 502 may comprise a sheet of metal, or it may comprise a coating which may be deposited, for example, galvanically. The holes 532 are aligned in an inclined direction relative to the edges of the wall 502.

In all the embodiments, the metallic wall to be heated may be made of a metal or a metal alloy of high specific resistance. Of course, only a portion of a wall surface may be used as a heating surface and provided with slots or gaps.

It should be clearly understood that the embodiments described are given by way of example only. Many further modifications, omission and additions are possible without departing from the spirit of this invention.

'1 claim:

1. In a packaging machine which includes a plurality of walls arranged to define a guide passage, means for feeding an electric current through at least a portion of at least one of the walls to directly heat the wall portion, means for feeding wrapping material through said guide passage with said wrapping material contacting the heated wall portion to heat the wrapping material, the combination of gaps in said wall portion, said gaps being arranged to increase the electric resistance of said wall portion, and additional perforations at marginal parts of said wall portion for further increasing the electric resistance of said marginal parts.

. p V 2. A packaging machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said wall portion comprises a carrier having a groove which is generally of zig-zag shape, and a continuous strip of conductive material embedded and fixed in said groove, adjacent runs of saidstrip being distanced from each other to form said gaps.

3. In a packaging machine which includes a plurality of walls arranged .to definea guide passage, means for feeding an electric current through at least a portion of at least one of the walls to directly heat the wall portion, means for feeding wrapping material through said guide passage with said wrapping material contacting the heated wall portion to heat the wrapping material, the feature that said wall portions comprises a carrier, and a continuous strip of conductive material on said carrier, said strip having a plurality of substantially parallel runs, adiacent runs being distanced from one another and connected by bent strip portions, said gaps beingformed between adjacent runs of said strip.

4. In a packaging machine which includes a plurality of walls arranged to define a guide passage, means for feeding an electric current through at least a portion of at least one of the walls to directly heat the wall portion, means for feeding wrapping material through said guide passage with said wrapping material contacting the heated wall portion to heat the wrapping material, the feature that said Wall portion comprises a sheet of metal having holes forming said gaps.

5. In a packaging machine which includes a plurality of walls arranged to define a guide passage, means for feeding an electric current through at least a portion of at least one of the walls to directly heat the wall portion, means for feeding wrapping material through said guide passage with said wrapping material contacting the heated wall portion to heat the wrapping material, the feature that said wall portion comprises a carrier, and a metal coating on said carrier, said coating having holes forming said gaps.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,061,039 5/1913 Borchert 53388 1,068,907 7/1913 Kraeuter et al. 338293 2,487,695 11/1949 Cloud 338293 XR 2,480,501 8/1949 Moore 53388 X'R 3,266,661 8/1966 Dates 219543 XR BERNARD STICK'NEY, Primary Examiner.

U-S. Cl. XJR. 

